Turbulent Supersonic/Hypersonic Heating Correlations for Open and Closed Cavities

An analysis of existing supersonic/hypersonic zero-pressure-gradient rectangular-geometry cavity heating data is presented, yielding new turbulent open-flowand closed-flow correlations for thefloor-averaged heating and the peak endwall heating. Limited data recently acquired from the Space Shuttle Return-to-Flight Program were used to develop the closed-flow correlations. Historical data obtained from the literature, covering an extremely wide range of flow conditions and test facilities, were used to develop the open-cavity heating correlations. The correlations were developed using newparameters derived in terms of cavity geometry and local flow conditions. These parameters are linearly related with a linear correlation coefficient R, which exceeds 0.97 in all cases. Confidence-limit and prediction-limit uncertainty values are provided at the 99% level of significance.